Ficifolia Festival 2006

Ficifolia Festival 2006

Princes Way, DrouinSaturday, 11th February 2006

I arrived in Drouin on the train just before the parade was about to start
and watch the Roulettes (air force aerobatics team) do a show, only to
turn off the camera instead of on so I missed it. I remember when the festival
first started in 1988 they could only afford one Roulette as it was only
small then (they still had donut eating though.)

After getting some new shoes (thanks Mum) we walked halfway back home and
stopped to watch the parade. Mum and dad decided to leave half way through and
I went across the road to talk to some of my parent's friends and take photos.

I thought it was a really good parade as I haven't seen one for years as it
always seems to be on a week I am in Melbourne. Special mention must go the the A1 Asphalt Racing team who were pinged by the cops later for attempting to do burnouts during the parade (Nelson laugh.)

To celebrate the record number of tractors I saw in the parade (I counted at least six),
here's a review of a classic tractor safety video. Those fish on the Yarra for the
Commonwealth Games opening ceremony may cost $7million, but they are no tractors

Crikey, there's a tractor on the farm (1983)

Director: Robert Grant
Starring: Maurie Fields, Simon Thorpe

Tagline: "You have to tell a monkey what a banana's for?"

In this tractor safety film we follow the adventures of Dad (Maurie Fields) and Dave (Simon Thorpe) as they get their new tractor and learn how to use it. Dave has been away to a tractor safety course and is having trouble getting Dad to take his advice seriously - "Where's the clothes rack?" Dad cracks at one point. After a lot of coaxing, he eventually gets the message and they enjoy their new tractor.

This film is really great! I was on a tractor jag last week so I decided to borrow a whole heap of tractor related movies from the ACMI lending library and this movie was at the top of my list.

Where else can you hear such soliloquies as:
"Protector frames are a proven method of reducing deaths and injuries resulting from roll-over accidents."
"You're not going to scare me off my own tractor!"
"You know that nippers and tractors mean trouble!"
"Why are you carrying on like a pork chop for?"
and the serious, but still humorously delivered:
"In fact, tractors are unstable under many of the conditions which they have to operate. So be bloody careful!"

I would recommend this safety film even if you are not that into tractors ad Maurie Fields is really great in it and steals the show. The production company, Comedia, also made a few other short films during the 80s that I will have to have a look at.